2002 Nicolas Potel Volnay Clos des ChenesThis was my last of 6 bottles and it was delicious with plenty more left in the tank. Started off sweet round and friendly but gained depth and structure with air. Broad as CdC can be, and perhaps not at its ideal moment of peak elegant maturation. But still plenty pleasant and I never felt the need to complain about having fun.

I have been reading some good reports on higher-end Champy so thought I would try the entry level offering.

Purchased today for this Focus ($19). Screw cap, served slightly chilled, 13% alc. Quite a light colour, simple earthy nose and not a lot of fruit. Dusty tannins, pretty easy to drink with roast chicken. Dry, strawberry, herbal, good acidity. Try again in 24 hrs.Not sure what kind of reaction one would get from the new-world crowd?

Jenise wrote:Jon, I'm curious about what your store did with the wine? Heat damage isn't a bottle by bottle thing like TCA; everything they have will be equally tainted. Did they remove it from inventory?

Jenise, yesterday I pulled a bottle out of every case of the wine in question and opened it and tasted it along with another manager. Each bottle was bad so every bottle was pulled from the shelf. The last taste I had left a metallic taste in my mouth, like old pennies, that lasted for hours. It's funny because their 'lesser' central coast bottling is outstanding.

One thing I have not had is much PN from New Zealand. I have heard much but tasted little. The marketplace around me seems inundated with Burgundy and the West Coast (not that there's anything wrong with that!). I can only hope that things change and many more NZ PNs arrive in the DC/MD area. Are the New Zealand PNs very prevalent in your neck of the woods?

2002 Robert Chevillon Nuits-St. George 1er 'Les Perrieres'Dusky red with bricking at the edges. It smells of beef blood, a hint of graphite and mature Burgundy fruit. Still has a lovely core of fruit under the earthiness and plenty of acids on the palate. It likely won't get any better to my tastes than it is now.

2010 Navarro Pinot Noir 'Deep End Blend'Jean cut her winegeek teeth on the Navarro Pinot Noirs served upstairs at Chez Panisse, but this wine doesn't speak much of cool-climate Mendo Pinot Noir. Rather, it is dark fruit-complected and fairly big with a pronounced spicy note to the nose. Not unpleasant, but not very typical either. It went surprisingly well with grilled duck breasts and the first morels of the season.

I have been reading some good reports on higher-end Champy so thought I would try the entry level offering.

Purchased today for this Focus ($19). Screw cap, served slightly chilled, 13% alc. Quite a light colour, simple earthy nose and not a lot of fruit. Dusty tannins, pretty easy to drink with roast chicken. Dry, strawberry, herbal, good acidity. Try again in 24 hrs.Not sure what kind of reaction one would get from the new-world crowd?

Well, the wine stood up well overnight and on day 2 the finish was quite an improvement, filling out with more depth and complexity.Satisfied drinker here

I have been reading some good reports on higher-end Champy so thought I would try the entry level offering.

Purchased today for this Focus ($19). Screw cap, served slightly chilled, 13% alc. Quite a light colour, simple earthy nose and not a lot of fruit. Dusty tannins, pretty easy to drink with roast chicken. Dry, strawberry, herbal, good acidity. Try again in 24 hrs.Not sure what kind of reaction one would get from the new-world crowd?

Well, the wine stood up well overnight and on day 2 the finish was quite an improvement, filling out with more depth and complexity.Satisfied drinker here

The quality of its generic Bourgogne is a good test for a négociant or domaine. It is good news that Champy seems to be on the way up. A few years ago, I did not find that a Corton Charlemagne from my cellar, 1995 I think, lived up to the appellation's reputation, although it was perfectly drinkable.

Jon Peterson wrote:One thing I have not had is much PN from New Zealand. I have heard much but tasted little. The marketplace around me seems inundated with Burgundy and the West Coast (not that there's anything wrong with that!). I can only hope that things change and many more NZ PNs arrive in the DC/MD area. Are the New Zealand PNs very prevalent in your neck of the woods?

When my neck of the woods was Christchurch, yes; since then, not so much PN from New Zealand is still very much in its early phases. Winemakers are striving to find what a New Zealand style/terroir is IMO. From Central Otago, I found a lot of PNs that were too extracted and big for my tastes, with a few exceptions (Felton Road, Amisfield, Rippon); from Canterbury, some promising upstarts (Pyramid Valley, Pegasus Bay, Mudhouse); Marlborough PNs I found pretty simple and forgettable and Martinborough PNs the most savory but still spotty in quality (Marlborough Vineyards, Escarpment being the standouts).

"The quality of its generic Bourgogne is a good test for a négociant or domaine. It is good news that Champy seems to be on the way up." I was disappointed in the basic 2011 Champy Bourgogne Rouge at a Vino Volo in the Philadelphia airport in March but it may have been the vintage or the bottle may have been opened a day or two earlier. I have had better from that producer in the past. I just looked back at my past notes on this forum and the one I liked in the past was the 2005 Champy Bourgogne Rouge "Signature" for $19.99 (or $16.99 by the case). I drank it in 2008. I am finishing a Riesling now but will open a Savigny les Beaune later this week and then a California Pinot Noir.

2006 Williams Selyem Weir Vineyard Pinot Noir. Weir Vineyard is in the Yorkville Highlands between Alexander Valley in Sonoma County and Anderson Valley in Mendocino County. Dark inky purple color. The tartness is a bit offputting initially. However, I warmed up to this wine as it aerated. In fact, I liked it better the second night. The first night I had it with broiled lamb chop and the second night with baked chicken in a mushroom sauce. Cherry flavor with underpinning of savory elements. Drinks easily/smoothly on the second evening and carries a long finish. Not my favorite Pinot Noir from this producer but satisfying overall. I had intended to open this on Easter to go with ham but ended up not opening it until a couple days later. It is versatile enough to pair with ham, pork, fowl, possibly salmon, and even the lamb chop.

David, I have a single bottle of both the 2005 and 2007 Williams Selyem Bucher Vineyard Pinot Noir. Maybe I will open one of them this month. I also have some bottles of Allen Vineyard and others that I look forward to opening--waiting for the right occasion. Flax Vineyard Pinot Noir is another that I have enjoyed (Merry Edwards also makes a Flax Vineyard Pinot Noir from a newer block of grapes than the WS source.)

Jenise wrote:Jon, I'm curious about what your store did with the wine? Heat damage isn't a bottle by bottle thing like TCA; everything they have will be equally tainted. Did they remove it from inventory?

Jenise, yesterday I pulled a bottle out of every case of the wine in question and opened it and tasted it along with another manager. Each bottle was bad so every bottle was pulled from the shelf. The last taste I had left a metallic taste in my mouth, like old pennies, that lasted for hours. It's funny because their 'lesser' central coast bottling is outstanding.

That's reassuring--that the wine wasn't left for unsuspecting customers.

Visited our state's first Total Wine in Bellevue (a very wealthy neighborhood) yesterday. Quite a store. I brought home two cases of things I couldn't live without. Lots of single bottles of white wine for summer just to have different stuff around, mostly Italian, plus small stashes of Champalou Vouvray and Terrabianco Campaccio, two wines we love.

My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov

Opened a 2006 August West Rosella's VY (California) last night after a long tough day at the cat doctor. It had all the characteristics I loved in previous vintages of this wine--the soft cherry and the caramel tones, but there wasn't much interesting secondary development and at the same time, it's relatively low acid and all the tannins are gone. Still a nice drink, but it's just going to fade from here so if you have 'em, drink up!

My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov

Checked on a couple of St. Innocent wines the last few days. The 2007 Justice Vineyard Pinot Noir was weedy and rather unpleasant. It was not as bad as the Momtazi, but I had about 4 sips and then dumped it. The 2006 Temperance Hill Pinot Noir was much better, with peppery berry fruit and a surprisingly long finish. A touch alcoholic, but that's 2006.

This was prompted by a nice piece on the Eola Hills in a recent issue of Wine & Spirits.

We opened a 2009 St. Innocent Momtazi a few weeks ago, David. LOVED it. It's greener than Oregon pinots usually are, but it's green like tomato-leaf green in the way of Santa Rita Hills/Santa Barbara pinots--the underlying fruit wasn't underripe. I thought that gave it terrific character.

My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov

I've noticed that 2009 seems to be an excellent vintage in Burgundy. From the good to excellent domaines, the lesser appellations (Bourgogne and villages wines) are punching well above their weight, and the Premiers Crus that I've had have been excellent as well. I haven't had the pleasure of sampling any of the 2009 Grands Crus. There are some excellent pinot noir bargains to be had amongst the 2009 lesser appellations from the good producers.

1999 Jadot Gevrey-Chambertin Estournelles St. JacquesNice wine, broad with good grip, and blends seamlessly with dinner. That said, this is my last bottle and I can't help keep thinking that I preferred the previous bottle from about a year and a half ago where the fruit was richer, more seductive, and showed more detailed flavor. Not sure if this is a stage and it will have a new form of harmony in the future, or if it's just my palate preference. Either way, it was fun and my wife went back for several additional pours, which is rare.

Paul Winalski wrote:I've noticed that 2009 seems to be an excellent vintage in Burgundy. From the good to excellent domaines, the lesser appellations (Bourgogne and villages wines) are punching well above their weight, and the Premiers Crus that I've had have been excellent as well. I haven't had the pleasure of sampling any of the 2009 Grands Crus. There are some excellent pinot noir bargains to be had amongst the 2009 lesser appellations from the good producers.

-Paul W.

Paul, I have been buying all the 2009 Burgs I can; they even joke about it at the wine shop. These wines are drinking very well right now due to their ripeness but I think they'll last a while, too.

Chambolle-Musigny 1er cru Les Sentiers 1996 - Dominique Laurent - Alc.13%. I approached this bottle with misgivings; the level was low (lower neck/upper shoulder), the cork had black mould on top and broke during extraction and colour was quite light with amber tints. The nose was better; discreet at first but developing nice cherry and mineral tinged fruit as the bottle emptied. The medium/light bodied palate was expressive and lively right from the start with delicately elegant Pinot fruit, some secondary flavours, minerals, lively + acidity with a crescendo towards a quite long and well supported finish. The last sips when some of the sediment needed time to settle in the glass were the best with more roundness and richness developing. Is this caused by nourishment from the sediment or simply more exposure to the air and a degree or so (C) higher temperature? Very good 16.5/20.

Comment on Dominique Laurent's reputation. Like with the wines of Ernie Loosen, I wonder whether I am exposing myself to ostracism from serious wine loving circles by liking a wine from Dominique Laurent . I read a lot of disparagement of his efforts. I think that this stems from claims of his or his supporters about 200% new oak élevage. I have to say that on this bottle I was not at all conscious of oak in its 17th year. In the late 90s and early 00s, I attended several tastings of young examples of his range at Kensington's La Vigneronne and even at an early stage of development only found the oaking obtrusive on a few examples.